I know, it’s outrageous! A banana costing a much as some smartphones? Well, if that price is where you are stuck at, then you are not the target market of HMD’s latest phone to hot the Kenyan market. Back at Mobile World Congress, HMD announced that their throwback device for the year 2018 would be the return of the movie-star Nokia 8110 banana phone. The twist this time around? 4G internet connectivity would come onboard.
The Nokia 8110 4G still features a banana-like design, especially in its bright yellow colour. The device has a slider that hides away the T-9 keyboard and the slider can be used to answer and end calls. Bonus? It can spin on its axis, helicopter style.
Other features of this “hey, look I got a fancy banana phone” include:
- Dual SIM capability
- VoLTE support
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 205
- KaiOS
- 512MB RAM
- 4GB internal storage
- 2.4-inch QVGA display
- 2-megapixel camera
The most interesting bit is that the new Nokia 8110 4G comes with access to an app store that has a variety of apps including Facebook, Google Search, Google Assistant, Google Maps and Twitter – yes, I tweeted from a banana and you can do emails as well. All these thanks to KaiOS that is a mobile operating system that aims to bring smartphone features to feature phones.
“The Nokia 8110 4G… is perfect for anyone who wants an iconic 4G feature phone or a companion phone, with access to an app store,” said Gopher Ogembo, HMD Global, Business Manager, East Africa. Something that we agree with. The Nokia 8110 4G is not a feature phone you buy because you really need a phone, it’s one you get to make a statement and look cool while at it – forking out Kes.8,000 for a feature phone is not for everyone so before you go complaining, stick to your lanes.
